Dungeon CRawl Classics

[Shadeydm]

I read all the DCC modules from this year as part of Ennie judging. There were three I really didn't care for, and the rest were good to amazing.

So which were the three you didin't care for it sounds like there are so many good ones I would hate to pick up a bad one.

 

[BadMojo]

On the whole, the DCC line is very good. I bought a bunch of them in PDF and I'd say 90% I would rate as above average to excellent.

I'll echo the statement that they are very easy to plug in to an existing campaign. I ran "Lost Vault of Zhathar Rho" (sp) in the Forgotten Realms with minimal tweaking.

"Iron Crypt of the Heretics" and "Curse of the Emerald Cobra" are two of my favorites. Can't go wrong with anything by Harley Stroh or Mike Ferguson.

Goodman has a nifty "Adventure Finder" that gives a little overview on what type of adventures these are-

http://www.goodmangames.com/adventurefinder.php

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I read all the DCC modules from this year as part of Ennie judging. There were three I really didn't care for, and the rest were good to amazing.

Wow, I'd love to hear a capsule review of as many of them as you can, but especially which weren't as good as the others. Budgetary concerns force me to pick and choose the ones that seem to have the most obvious application to my campaign.

 

[dragonlordofpoondari]

I read all the DCC modules from this year as part of Ennie judging. There were three I really didn't care for, and the rest were good to amazing.

Also curious about your opinion here. Would you mind emailing me which two you didn't fall in love with (so as not to create any bad publicity for GG)?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Also curious about your opinion here. Would you mind emailing me which two you didn't fall in love with (so as not to create any bad publicity for GG)?

Huh?

You want him to keep his opinion a secret about which of their products aren't as good as the others -- after he's stated that he likes more than 95 percent of these modules -- except if people individually ask him?

They produced a product. They know that not everyone will like every product equally. Goodman will survive someone saying "this pile of modules is all awesome, those three over there didn't float my boat."

 

[Mycanid]

It would be hard to imagine modules ... that are easier to fit into a campaign. Even the least exciting DCC I've purchased is head and shoulders above many of the adventures I've bought over the years.

I second this sentiment!

 

[Piratecat]

I didn't care for the following --

#38: Escape from the Forest of Lanterns ("A demiplane that transforms the heroes into little children and sends them to defeat the Warty Witch in her candy cottage!") This might be an okay adventure for teaching children how to play D&D. It's way too saccarhine and contrived for my taste, though; I just don't care for shoehorning the fairy tale genre into a heroic campaign.

#40: Devil in the Mists ("Vengeful sahuagin, demonic taint, and a hidden Leviathan of the Dark Mists...") In addition to plot holes, I found it difficult to respect a BBEG who is effectively an evil farting barrel with tentacles.

#33: Belly of the Great Beast ("An epic level adventure across the stars.") Epic adventures are ridiculously hard to write, and the core of this one is pretty good. I really didn't care for the plot hook, the framing story or the adventure location, though.

Okay, that being said, Goodman produces vast quantities of good to superb modules. Go - now! - and buy a copy of the Ennie-nominated #34: Cage of Delirium ("Audio CD Enhanced Adventure. Infiltrate the long-abandoned, fire-scarred, and cursed halls of Haverthold Asylum.") If you want a gorgeous GM screen from Erol Otis, buy #39: Ruins of Castle Churo ("The decimated remains of a wizard’s tower - and the mysterious magical effects that remain.") And everyone should own a copy of #13: Crypt of the Devil Lich, and JG1: The Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor.

As always, this is all just my own opinion. I'm not representing any other ENnie judge but myself.

I have a lot of respect for these guys. Not everything is a hit out of the park, but they have a good track record and fun adventures.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm planning on picking up the Forest of Lanterns adventure, simply because I'm a major fan of Dungeonland and am eager for something that approximates that, without being so tied to Carroll's works.

If I'm not going to use the audio -- pbp game, natch -- is Cage of Delirium still great?

 

[Crothian]

#38: Escape from the Forest of Lanterns ("A demiplane that transforms the heroes into little children and sends them to defeat the Warty Witch in her candy cottage!") This might be an okay adventure for teaching children how to play D&D. It's way too saccarhine and contrived for my taste, though; I just don't care for shoehorning the fairy tale genre into a heroic campaign.

This one I slightly disagree with. I liked the encounters and the story hook. What I found to be the biggest problem is that everything in it seems to be evil. It had a very good fairy tale set up but the encounters just looked like fairy tale encounters but where actually just like D&D monsters with different cloths on.

I thought 33 was a nice attempt but just didn't hold up that well. High level adventrues though are just very tough to do.

 

[+5 Keyboard!]

I didn't care for the following --

#38: Escape from the Forest of Lanterns ("A demiplane that transforms the heroes into little children and sends them to defeat the Warty Witch in her candy cottage!") This might be an okay adventure for teaching children how to play D&D. It's way too saccarhine and contrived for my taste, though; I just don't care for shoehorning the fairy tale genre into a heroic campaign..

Ya know... I read the first post about having 3 you didn't like and I thought, "Man, I hope he's not thinking of mine as one of those three..." Doh!

It's hit and miss. You either like it or you don't. Haven't seen anyone on the fence regarding this adventure. Piratecat, check out Heroes' End in The Adventure Continues anthology. Similar in many aspects without the elements you point out not liking.

"Shoehorning" and "contrived", though. Ouch! That just hurts. I'll get over it though.
FYI, I'm running both of these adventure for Goodman Games at Gen Con next month.